Ghost in the Machine
by Red Tigress
Summary: The Extremis virus is dangerous. Bruce knows it. And he's taking matters into his own hands. Sort of IM3 headcannon. But only sorta. See inside for additional notes. Rated for language/violence later on.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: For those of you waiting for an update on Undercover, it's coming, I promise! But this sunk its claws in after the IM3 trailer and wouldn't let go. That said, this, I guess you could say, would be a few scenes from that directly imposed at the end of the Avengers. Some familiarity with the Extremis plotline may help, but it's not really necessary to read this. So, that said, I hope you enjoy!_

_This is the most Bruce feels I've ever written, tbh. Thanks to everyone over at the beta branch for giving this the once over._

Bruce was on what he termed as "extended vacation". He _had_ dropped by the Stark Tower R&D department, or "candyland", as Tony deemed it, living in the tower for about a week while Tony and Pepper headlined repairs. He felt a little like a third wheel to be honest, but even a wrecked penthouse was still an amount of luxury he wasn't normally used to, so he'd take it while he got his bearings.

He had seen Steve once, just to check in, find out what the other man was up to. Steve had seen reluctant to divulge information, or maybe a little embarrassed. But he confessed he was working for Fury, along with Natasha and Clint on a part-time basis. Bruce had just nodded and wished him well. It seemed they were all finding their place.

Tony included. The week following the invasion was loaded, and between the cleanup and the reconstruction of the tower, Tony hadn't had time for much else. But eventually Pepper told Bruce they would have to go back to Malibu. He was welcome to stay in the tower while they were gone, but Bruce declined.

"Then I want you to have this," Pepper said, handing him a Stark phone.

Bruce had been somewhat surprised before he tried to hand it back. "I can't, I can't possibly-"

"No, Bruce," she said, wrapping his hand around it. "Only Tony and I and Jarvis know the number. It's got mine and Tony's number in it, plus an emergency line to Jarvis, and also Col. James Rhodes." Bruce had stiffened at the mention of a Colonel, before Pepper gently squeezed his hand. "He's a personal friend of Tony's. Probably his only friend. You would be his second." She smiled gently at him, but it was far more sad and bitter then Bruce felt it had any right to be. He took the phone, pocketing it.

His goodbyes to Tony were short. The other man seemed to understand Bruce's need to be on the move, but he still tried to convince him otherwise. "Sure you won't change your mind?" he asked, shaking Bruce's hand in front of LaGuardia.

"You've already given me too much," Bruce said, referring to the private Stark Industries jet Bruce was about to leave the country on. "Besides, I…I can't stay," he said. Tony just nodded, looking down.

"Well…if you ever need anything-"

"I know how to get in touch," Bruce had assured him.

That had been three months ago.

Something under his bed was beeping. Already in a light sleep from the humidity, Bruce scrubbed a hand over his face, trying to figure out what the noise was. It wasn't stopping, and against his will he was beginning to find himself getting…irritable.

Annoyed, he pulled out his duffel bag, digging through it, until he found the Stark phone. He stared at it strangely. He had never turned it on. But somehow, it had activated itself remotely, it's light blue screen lit up with bold black letters: _Pepper._

He almost didn't answer it. He was too used to being off the grid to have Tony pull him back in now for some mundane activity. He didn't want to risk going back. He had hurt a lot of people, destroyed most of Manhattan. But if he was being honest with himself, he yearned for the contact, the familiarity which he had known briefly. He told himself he was fulfilling an obligation.

Besides, Pepper didn't seem like the kind of person to call him out of the blue. She clearly respected his privacy and his needs for leaving. Unbidden, a knot of anxiety started to form in his gut, and he reluctantly pressed the "accept" button.

"Hello?"

"_Bruce?"_

"Hi, Pepper."

"_Bruce. How…how are you?"_

He narrowed his eyes in confusion. She sounded unsure of herself, doubtful about how to continue. That…wasn't like her. Even from what he had learned about her in the week he had been living in her house.

"Fine," he told her. "Is…everything okay?"

A beat of silence, and then a small intake of breath from the other end. _"I…didn't know who else to call…"_

"It's alright, you can tell me."

"_Do you know about Tony's…procedure?"_

Right. The Extremis.

Bruce couldn't believe it when he had heard. Extremis was initially developed to replace the immune system, making a human the most physically capable specimen they could be through the use of a nanovirus. Tony had had the procedure done in order to interface it with his own tech. Tony was basically going to risk his life to inject himself with the nanite equivalent of a supersoldier serum.

It was a risky procedure, to say the least; thus far, there had been no known successful test subjects. The ones who had lived had to be killed immediately, presenting a danger to themselves and those around them.

Bruce had been…well, a bit angry, when he found out. Not enough to bring the other guy out, but it had been close. Bruce himself was the gamma equivalent of the super soldier serum, and look how well that had turned out. But he had been too far away, and had heard too late to be able to stop it.

But Tony had lived, and it had seemed to the world like Iron Man was better, faster, and stronger for it.

_A modern soldier for a modern age._

"Well, I can't say I was too thrilled when I heard, but things seem to be going well for him now. Aren't they?" The last bit was said quietly. He already knew the answer. Or they wouldn't be having this conversation.

"_Since New York, he…hasn't really been sleeping. And when he does, it's…well, Bruce, to be honest, I still don't think he sleeps at all. But since the procedure, when he does sleep, things in the house…well…you're going to think I'm crazy…"_

Her voice took on an almost hysterical note, like she knew he wouldn't believe her. But he did. Oh, he did. He had seen too many things in this life to doubt anything she said.

"Pepper, I turn into a giant green rage monster when people look at me wrong. Try me." He tried to sound encouraging, but he wasn't sure he pulled it off.

"_Lights…flicker. The computers, they…sometimes they act up. Jarvis can't explain anything."_

"Can't or won't?"

"_I…I don't know anymore. Bruce…I'm scared for him. I don't know what to do, maybe if…I just thought-"_ Her voice broke then, quietly, but he could still hear the uncertainty, and the fear, and he knew Pepper wouldn't ask if she wasn't legitimately scared. Not for her, but for Tony. Always for Tony.

"I'm coming. When can you send a plane?"

He had noticed how she didn't come into the lab anymore. How she changed the subject when he brought up the suit. He had…

…just been trying to do the right thing.

He wasn't sure what that was anymore. And it wasn't just regulated to doing something Pepper didn't agree with. No one had wanted him to do it.

"_Too much power,"_ they whispered. _"No man should have that much power."_

And they were right.

He was probably the least-capable person for the job.

He couldn't even keep his own head straight.

He sat on top of the covers of his bed, not making any motion to get in, despite the darkness both outside and in hinting at the late hour. He rolled a gauntlet over and over in his hands. Not really sure why. It had no flaws. He had made sure of it.

He heard light footsteps, not looking up as Pepper came to the doorway, just wearing pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. She said nothing, not surprised to find him awake.

He couldn't keep himself from flinching.

"I don't know why you stay," he mumbled.

"What?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Me," he said quietly. "I'm…" he swallowed hard. He couldn't bring himself to say it. _Damaged. Dangerous.A wreck. A liability. _Someone whose sole occupation had become near-death encounters that she was always left to pick up the pieces of. He heard her shuffle around to the bed, and felt the mattress sag a little under her weight as she sat down. Her fingers gently took hold of his chin turning his head to face her. He didn't meet her eyes.

"Tony," she said, her voice pained. "What kind of person do you think I am? What kind of person would I be if I left?"

_Everyone else did,_ he thought.

"Tony, I love you. Why would I leave?" she whispered, sounding hurt.

"You can't keep picking up the pieces of my life as I destroy it," he whispered back.

She leaned in then, kissing his lips long and deep and desperate. He returned it for a moment, before angling his head down, refusing to meet her eyes again. "Please," he tried. She only drew him tighter, leaning her head in the crook of his neck.

He thought he had done it to protect her. But, he thought now, maybe he had just done it for himself.

He didn't know anymore.

"I don't know how I can help you," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his waist.

And there was the problem. No one knew how to help him. He couldn't even help himself.

He got up, gently pushing her away. She let him go. "Tony," she said earnestly, angrily. "I _promise_ I will find someone who can."

He glanced at her once over his shoulder, before walking, then rushing out.

No one could help him.

Because he was Iron Man.

Bruce blinked his eyes as he moved out of the interior of the private jet into the bright sunlight off the Stark Industries landing strip. Tony was standing in front of a car on the tarmac, along with Pepper. Bruce smiled and Tony grinned back, but Bruce took in the paleness, the wrinkled t-shirt and pants, the sunglasses hiding his eyes, and the tired slouch immediately. This was not the same man he had left three months ago.

"Bruce! You should have told me you were coming. Oh wait, Pepper did. THIS MORNING."

Bruce glanced at Pepper, who had the decency to look somewhat guilty about that. He took Tony's outstretched hand, shaking it appreciatively. "It's good to see you, Tony."

"Likewise," the other man affirmed, giving him an unusually subdued smile. "Welp, let's get a move-on. I wanna show you the old homestead, and I doubt you have that much gear." Tony turned to get into the obscenely expensive-looking sports car as Pepper gave Bruce a hug.

"Thank you so much, Bruce," she said quietly.

Tony drove only moderately dangerously to his house in Malibu as Pepper and Bruce tried to make small talk about the three months Bruce had spent in South Africa. Bruce didn't miss how Tony stayed uncharacteristically silent as he drove. He found it quite unnerving.

They soon reached the house, and Tony tore into the garage with Pepper only mildly berating his driving skills. He snipped a few comments back, but it was painfully obvious to Bruce his heart wasn't in it. Pepper took his bag and hustled upstairs, while Tony showed him around.

Two of Tony's bots whirred appreciatively as he approached, and Bruce looked with admiration over the gold and red suit that must have been the latest armor.

Tony sauntered over to a desk table, picking up a wire device with a small screen attached and put it on his head, looking proud. "Taa-daa."

"Uh, what is it?" Bruce asked curiously.

Tony grinned brightly, and it was the first time all afternoon Bruce had seen him look more like himself. "My wireless interface."

Bruce heard the whirring of hydraulics, and his head snapped around to the previously still suit of armor. His eyes widened in surprise, and Tony kept grinning. "The Extremis allows me to connect with the inner AI of the suit."

"So…Jarvis?" Bruce asked hesitantly.

"_Not quite,"_ the British voice spoke from somewhere in the ceiling, and even though Bruce had become used to Jarvis at the tower in New York, his disembodied voice was still surprising. _"It would seem I am a little too far developed for seamless interface."_

"Jarvis and the nanites don't get along," said Tony looking cheeky.

"_Indeed."_ And Bruce thought he could hear a note of bitterness in his voice.

Tony ignored it. "That's something I'm still working on," Tony admitted.

"So," Bruce continued, sitting slowly in one of the chairs scattered around the room and studying Tony and the suit curiously. "You've plugged something that can survive an alien assault and a nuke directly into your brain."

"Cool, right?" Tony grinned taking the headset off and laying it back down. He looked at Bruce expectantly, and Bruce could see he was waiting for justification, confirmation he did something _right_.

Bruce…wasn't sure what to say. He was strangely conflicted. On the one hand, Tony asking for someone's approval just felt _wrong_. This was the man whom Bruce had watched hack into one of the world's most secretive organization without a moment's hesitation. But Bruce also felt the rage beginning to creep up inside of him. He hesitated, trying to control his genuine disbelief that Tony would do this. That in the face of all Bruce's troubles, being witness to them, Tony would _choose_to do this. He took a deep breath, and stared Tony right in the eye, seeing the other man's face fall slightly. "I'm just…I guess I don't really understand…why."

Tony became so still, Bruce for a moment thought that he might not have been breathing. He narrowed his eyes, jutting his chin forward slightly in defiance. "No," and he said it so quietly, so unlike any tone Bruce had ever heard from him, Bruce struggled to keep the shock and rage from his face.. "_Why?_ Coming from _you_, of all people?"

Bruce felt the monster under the surface stir, and he stood up. Slowly and deliberately, so there was no way Tony would mistake his intentions. But Tony plowed on.

"What were you doing, huh, Bruce? Trying to impress some of your coworkers?" Tony spat. Bruce didn't flinch, despite how Tony's words were digging at that raw nerve he was always trying to suppress. "Trying to become the next Captain America?"

Bruce's hands clenched, and he could feel his muscles quivering. "You know I regret that _every waking moment of my life_," Bruce hissed, staring coldly at his friend. "Which is why I'm so furious you would knowingly do it to yourself! What gives you the right, Tony? To give yourself that _power_, power that maybe you won't be able to hold in check, _despite_ watching someone in front of your face war with it _every goddamn day_?" Bruce was quivering now, and he just caught a tinge of green coming to the surface of his skin. He repressed it desperately, struggling for control, as he clenched his jaw, continuing to look angrily at his friend, who only stared wide-eyed and furious back at him.

They stood there for a long minute, Bruce suppressing his rage as Tony's jaw twitched.

"It's not the same," Tony finally said quietly. He wasn't looking at Bruce with pity. Tony, for all his dumb actions never pitied Bruce, and that was one of the things Bruce admired about him. But it sounded like that same ideal was what had brought this whole mess on in the first place, making Tony's actions even that more imbecilic.

"It is the same," Bruce simply said, trying to get his point across.

Tony snapped then, in a flurry of movement. He swung his arms, getting up into Bruce's face, not afraid of anything he might see there. "Well, maybe it should be! Because Bruce, I've seen what's out there, and we could use some goddamn monsters on our side!" Bruce didn't flinch at the word monster. He didn't. Tony was still in his face, but now Bruce could see clear as day the raw, unmitigated terror there. Not of him. And Bruce wondered why he had mistaken it before.

Tony continued, desperately trying to get his point across to Bruce, trying to make him _understand_. "Fury was right. We are woefully underprepared. And we may have gotten lucky, but a guy in a metal suit, a guy with a shield, an archery buff and an assassin ain't gonna cut it anymore!" Tony suddenly stumbled backwards, looking dazed from shouting, before sitting heavily into his chair. Bruce took one step forward but Tony held his hand up, not looking at the other man as he breathed harshly through his nose.

"Is that what this is about?" he asked.

Tony looked up at him, still glaring. "_This_ is all there is. This…Bruce, _this_is the future. And if we don't catch up, we're going to lose. Everything."

Tony suddenly looked very, very tired, and Bruce felt guilt racking his gut unpleasantly. He had certainly not thought about the events in New York the same way Tony had. He doubted any of them had. Tony was taking full responsibility, and paying for it.

"Pepper told me you don't sleep. She's worried."

Tony gave an indignant huff. "I didn't sleep before."

Bruce rolled his eyes in exasperation. "There's a difference between not sleeping and having all-night science benders." He put his hand on Tony's shoulder, who didn't acknowledge it in any way. Finally, he looked up at Bruce.

"You hungry? You must be starved. Let's go find some chow." He stood up, much more smoothly than a minute ago, and Bruce fought the urge to roll his eyes again. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

It was only after a little pressure on Bruce's part Tony finally relented to letting him see the Extremis files. Bruce dove right in, examining everything from other patient reports (strength enhancement, speed enhancement, pyrokinesis in one deadly case) to Tony's own medical reports when he was under the knife. The virus itself must have been modified before it went into Tony, because there wasn't anything about him blowing things up (at least not with his mind) or punching holes through walls (with his bare hands). Tony even had some of his own notes and records detailing not only the immediate aftermath of the procedure (violently sick, fever, weakness) to building the new suit AI around it (something Jarvis still seemed reluctant to talk about).

Bruce rubbed his eyes tiredly before noticing the time. Not only was it late for LA, but well into the next day in South Africa. Tony had…disappeared at some point. Again, the uncharacteristic silence of the other man unnerved him.

He was just beginning to delve into the armor schematics (and that Tony and Jarvis let him was saying a lot), when the screen flickered, followed by the lights a moment later. Automatically, he looked towards the window. He was expecting to see a storm which was the usual cause of power problems wherever he lived. But no rain beat the windows and no lightning tore through the sky. A moment later, he heard feet pounding down the stairs, and saw Pepper's bare feet. She looked nervous, and he immediately got up and went to the door.

He had just opened it when Pepper started speaking. "It's happening right now," she said breathlessly. She turned to move up the stairs, not looking to see if Bruce was following. Of course he was.

"Why didn't you just tell Jarvis to get me?"

"He goes offline, I think…when it happens." She moved through the sparse living room to their bedroom, a hair's breadth from running.

Bruce tore into the bedroom after her, taking in the scene. Tony was on top of the covers, still dressed but twitching. He kicked out occasionally, his feet only serving to further entangle himself in the comforter. He made pained whines as Pepper moved over, kneeling down next to him and saying his name over and over. She gave Bruce a pleading look as nothing she did woke Tony from his nightmare.

Bruce wasn't sure how he could help, but he moved over and gently eased Pepper out of the way, taking hold of Tony's upper arms. The billionaire flinched violently, and squeezed his eyes shut tighter. Bruce saw a tear escape one.

"Tony? Tony, wake up. You're dreaming," Bruce said firmly. Tony just twisted in his grasp, a whimper escaping his throat. Bruce winced in sympathy, and Pepper sidled up next to him, her hand on Tony's chest. They both looked up as the lights flickered again, and Bruce thought he heard the stereo go on in another room. Inside of him, the Hulk quivered with anxiety.

There was a noise like shaking metal across the room, and both he and Pepper turned to look as a discarded Iron Man gauntlet began to rattle. They both could stared as it slowly maneuvered to line up with the man on the bed. Bruce only just snapped himself out of his stupor long enough to pull Pepper down on the floor beside him as she cried out in alarm. In the next second, the guantlet flew with a dizzying speed directly through where their heads had been a moment before. It smashed into the wall above the bed, cracking the wall.

Bruce could barely keep the Hulk at bay now. Eyes wide, he surged back up from the floor, grabbing Tony with perhaps not his own strength. His shout bordered on a roar: "TONY!"

The other man snapped awake, breathing hard, sweat coating his skin and his eyes rolling wildly. Pepper wasted no time in wrapping her arms around his trembling shoulders, pulling him close. Bruce had to take a few deep breaths before he spoke. "Tony. You with us?"

Tony just stared at him, uncomprehending. Finally, his breath hitched and he all but fell into Pepper's arms. "You're okay," she whispered. "We're okay."


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you all very much for the comments, favs, and alerts. I read them all, they really make my day. Also, big thanks to TBB for the once over (as always), and an update on Undercover is also coming soon. In the meantime, enjoy the feels!_

When Tony had recovered enough to gain some shred of dignity back, he had torn from the room in an embarrassed silence, leaving Pepper to cradle her heads in her hands and Bruce to stare wordlessly after him.

Finally, when they could hear some large banging noises coming from the lab, Bruce sat on the bed next to her.

"I think we should take him back to New York," he said.

She looked at him with confusion. "You don't think…it'll make all this worse?" She gestured vaguely to the hole in the wall.

Bruce hesitated. He had been wondering the same thing. He shook his head slowly. "It could…but I think he's isolated here. In New York there's SHIELD. Things to keep him busy. The other Avengers." _A defense. In case this got out of hand._ He didn't voice that last thought out loud, though. "Besides, I don't think the penthouse is as hard wired as this place is."

Pepper sighed. "No, it's not. We had to re-wire the whole thing after…after it got destroyed." She pulled her knees tighter to her chest, not meeting its gaze.

Bruce put his hand gently on her back. "I know it doesn't help much, but try talking to him about it. In the meantime, I need to make a call. Can I borrow your phone?"

She nodded, pointing to the night stand. He thanked her, scrolling through the numbers on it.

Just as he thought, the number he needed was there.

~AV~

Steve was in the gym on the helicarrier, looking through files and paperwork. He actually preferred it down here. The sounds of weights and metal and punching bags were more familiar to him than the hum of the bridge or the intelligence gathering reports he overheard around the rest of the ship.

Barton also spent a lot of time here too. They weren't exactly close, but they had developed a sort of comfortable camaraderie. That and he generally wasn't assigned too many missions anymore. He never showed it, but Steve could assume he didn't feel comfortable around the ship either. Steve definitely had noticed the suspicious looks the other agents sometimes sent his way.

Romanoff was sometimes here too when missions weren't keeping her busy. She often sparred with Barton, and occasionally Steve when she really wanted a challenge. The first few times, Steve had been reluctant to fight her. But she dropped him to the mats often enough he soon got over the awkwardness and sparred with her in earnest. It was actually a decent matchup most of the time. Her agility and speed against his strength.

She was there today, going through the motions with Clint. They started out simple, with parries and jabs, but Steve knew they would soon move on to flashier moves. Backflips, spins, and the like. He just watched Natasha drop to the mat and kick her leg out when he was startled by his phone ringing. It took him a moment to remember he had it. Hardly anyone ever called him, except Fury or Hill, and generally not when he was already on the ship.

He flipped it open. "Hello?"

"_Captain Rogers, hi."_ Steve raised an eyebrow. Now that was strange indeed.

"Dr. Banner. I thought you were in Africa," he said somewhat teasingly.

"_Well, yes…I had a bit of a change of plans."_

Steve watched as Clint pinned Natasha on the mat before helping her up. "Oh?"

"_It's Tony,"_ Bruce said, making Steve automatically scrub a hand over his face. The two men had only known each other for a short time, and got on famously. Steve's interactions with Stark had been…not as pleasant to say the least. He felt some guilt about it, sure. But making amends felt uncomfortable enough that he hadn't really done it. And then Stark had gone back to Malibu. _"He's not doing so well."_

Steve straightened, and he saw both Barton and Romanoff glance at him curiously from where they were drinking from their water bottles. "What do you mean?"

"_I want to bring him back to New York. To be around the other Avengers. He's not sleeping."_

Steve sighed. "I don't know how I can help with that."

"_I wasn't finished,"_ Banner said irritably. _"I want you guys to move in to the penthouse with him. All of us. Call it a security measure if you want."_

Steve glanced up at Barton and Romanoff who were looking at him curiously. "Are you sure that's such a good idea?"

Steve thought he detected a note of amusement in Bruce's voice then. _"I know he invited you all anyway. Besides, where are you living now? What about Clint and Natasha? I doubt they have apartments anyway. And I know Clint…well, I might know a bit about what he's going through."_

Steve winced minutely, not being able to identify with that line of thought, but certainly understanding it. "Um, I'd have to talk it over with them," Steve said, looking at the two agents in question now standing right in front of him. Clint raised an eyebrow questioningly. "I have a hard time believing that you, of all people, want to cozy up together in Stark's penthouse though."

"_I know,"_ the voice on the other end said. But the amusement was gone, and in its place a tired, worried tone. _"But there's something else. I'd rather talk to you about it in person."_

"Yeah, sure," Steve said, unsure of what this was about.

"_I'll let you know when we're coming. Thanks, Steve."_ There was a click, and then he was gone. Steve sighed again as he pocketed the phone.

"What was that all about?" Clint asked. Natasha just crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Um…Dr. Banner wants us all to move in…to Tony's penthouse." Steve gave them a weak grin.

They both remained still enough that Steve was prepared to laugh off the whole thing as a joke. Then Clint nodded once. "Absolutely. When can we move in?"

"Uh…what?" Even Natasha was giving Clint a somewhat strange look.

"I said, absolutely. It's nicer than my place here." He turned abruptly, and Natasha shared a knowing look with Steve. Everything unsaid in that sentence passed between them. Clint was sick of being ostracized. The guilt tearing at him. And Bruce, it seemed, was spot on about the whole thing.

"What about you?" Steve asked Natasha. She shrugged, but Steve figured he knew where she stood on the whole situation.

"As long as he doesn't treat me as his PA, sounds nice. Could be fun." She gave him the smallest of smiles, before turning to follow Clint.

Steve had a few reservations of moving in with a bunch of still-relative strangers. But he couldn't deny there was strategic merits to the whole thing. If there were an emergency, they were all together if they were needed quickly. The four of them could keep an eye on the Hulk. And if Steve were truly honest with himself, his apartment in Brooklyn felt even emptier than the helicarrier.

~AV~

"What is this? What IS this? It's not enough you ingrates are taking my job, but now you're taking over my home as well?" Tony pretended to be offended as Clint shoved a duffel bag into his arms as he stepped off the elevator and into the penthouse. Clint looked around, inhaling sharply.

"Looks nice since the remodel," he commented pleasantly. Tony gave an outraged look to Bruce, who had the decency to look sheepish. Bruce wasn't entirely sure how she had done it, but Pepper convinced Tony they should go to New York. Time out of the house, check in with the New York R&D division, that sort of thing.

Neither of them had said anything to Tony about having some house guests.

On what would hopefully be a permanent basis.

"Seriously, Bruce, what is this?" And Bruce could tell he was losing patience.

He was still thinking over what to actually say, when Clint saved him.

"Dr. Banner invited me."

Okay, not really.

"What?! You two hobos are just going to hitch a ride onto my train so you don't have to use food stamps? Does SHIELD not pay you, Barton?" Tony actually tossed his duffel bag back into the still open elevator doors. Clint ignored him. He seemed to be studying a vent.

Bruce scrubbed a hand over his face. "Uh, no. But, Tony, you did sort of…invite us all to stay here. At the shawarma place."

"Better late than never," Clint mumbled.

Tony gave a defeated sigh. "Well, you're not staying here," he said, getting into the elevator. Both of them looked at him with a little surprise. Was it possible Bruce had overstepped his boundaries by assuming the invitation was still open? He wasn't sure he could handle that. He cast a sidelong look at Clint, and could see just the barest hint of betrayal start to creep across his face.

"Tony," Bruce started.

"Get in!" Tony urged them. "You have your own floor. You're NOT staying on mine and Pepper's." He gave a dramatic sigh.

And just like that, the darkness which Bruce hadn't even realized was there lifted, and Clint all but bounded into the elevator giving a cheeky grin as he did so. Tony made a hurry-up gesture at Bruce, who followed.

Tony frowned as the doors closed in front of them. "Who else did you invite, Bruce?"

Bruce scratched the back of his neck slowly. "Well…"

"Nat will be here in an hour," Clint said.

Tony huffed. "Well, she has her own floor too. Can't have her putting bullets into my upholstery."

"She didn't destroy your upholstery when she worked for you," Clint pointed out. The elevator doors opened, and they all stepped onto a shiny, hardwood floor. Tony started walking and they both fell into step behind them. "She said you destroyed your OWN house."

"Why does NO ONE let me forget that? I was dying, you kn- hey, why _do_ you even know about that? And here I thought spies didn't kiss and tell."

Clint grinned. "You're hardly worth kissing."

"You're right, Pepper much prefers getting straight to-"

"Tony Stark!" They all came to a sudden halt as Pepper Potts stepped out of a room down the hallway. Her arms were crossed over her chest and Bruce could only describe the look on her face as "smouldering".

"Darling!" Tony said striding forward, his arms held wide. "So happy you're here, have you met Agent Barton?"

Pepper pushed past him, a genuine smile on her face (and a pouty look on Tony's) as she took Clint's hand in her own. "Agent Barton, I'm so pleased to meet you. I was just making sure your room was ready. Jarvis told me you were here, and I'm so glad you took Tony up on his invitation. Welcome to Stark Tower."

Not for the first time, Bruce was impressed by Pepper's ability to both rein Tony in, and present him in a somewhat flattering light. Clint, for his part, looked a little bit shocked. Like no one had ever given him anything before. Bruce could relate.

"Um, thanks," he said somewhat uncertainly. "I just…thanks." Bruce instantly recognized the crushing gratitude and relief that looked like it was threatening to overwhelm the archer. And just like with Bruce, Tony swooped in and clapped his hand on the other man's back.

"Don't mention it! You'll love it here. I had a range installed in the basement. You and your gun-toting she-beast will love it…" Tony started walking with him down the hall to show him around. Pepper shared a knowing look with Bruce.

"I think you are a genius after all," she said. Bruce saw some of the tension from the past few days lift from her shoulders.

~AV~

Tony was actually having such a good time with Clint, he had almost forgotten why he was even in New York in the first place. In Malibu, he had been such a wreck after Bruce saw what had happened that he had automatically agreed to anything Pepper asked. Anything she wanted.

It was only later when he realized what she wanted was for them to go back to New York.

He had gone back to her and told her no, but she had moved onto CEO mode from Stark-Pity-Party mode. She cited a bunch of business decisions, plus she said something about how Bruce couldn't really live in their Malibu home. The tower was much better suited for multiple guests.

He hadn't given that last statement much thought at the time. Probably because of the crushing guilt he had felt for almost sending a metal arm into his girlfriend's head.

Clint hadn't said much since he'd been here. It wasn't hard for Tony to put two and two together and figure out he was probably catching a lot of flak for the whole almost destroying the helicarrier incident. He doubted the man had had an easy time of it on his return to service and he was actually surprised Romanoff hadn't destroyed the whole organization herself in retaliation on his behalf. But he wasn't saying anything about it now, and Tony certainly wasn't going to bring it up.

No, Clint just seemed sort of overwhelmed. Sure, he came in here all cocky, but it was obvious to Tony he hadn't really expected to be taken seriously. It filled Tony with satisfaction, definitely, to know he had proven someone wrong. But there was something else too. Something he wasn't quite used to. Maybe it was the genuine gratitude he saw in Clint's face before that cockiness came right back to replace it. Maybe it was because he actually saw the results of doing the right thing for once, immediately and so in-his-face Tony had no choice but to watch.

He hadn't been expecting Natasha to have the same gratitude, but when she did show up, dressed like a normal person and not someone who could kill him with her eyeliner kit, she gave him a warm smile. She even gave one to Bruce, who gave a small wave in return.

But then Steve Rogers stepped off the elevator behind her.

And Tony realized what was actually happening.

Forcing down the feeling of betrayal that began to crawl up his veins, he gave a light smile to Steve. "Cap, no one mentioned you were coming!"

Steve looked suddenly lost. "I…I hope that's okay? I mean, you did say-"

Tony surged forward, wrapping his arm around the other man's shoulders who stiffened minutely. "Of course it's okay. Invitation's still open. And you have your own room and gym and everything. I knew SHIELD wouldn't outfit Fury's Golden Boy right."

"Well, they did set me up fine, but I just thought-"

Ah, there it was. Just thought Tony might need some looking after. Just thought he might be a danger to everyone around him. Just thought he'd get into trouble without constant supervision.

"Yes, Natasha does need looking after. She is a spy, you know. Did you know? Probably not, SHIELD can be pretty hush hush on their covert affairs." Natasha rolled her eyes, but didn't look angry for once, and Steve just gave a defeated smile. "Well, Miss. Romanoff, you're on the same floor as your Robin Hood buddy, and Cap, you're sharing a floor with Rage Monster. I hope that's okay." He gave him a mock concerned look. "If you guys need anything, ask Jarvis. I'm not your butler." He sped off to his lab, not looking back.

He wasn't about to deny Rogers a place to live, especially when it became apparent that Bruce and the two agents were interest in being residents. And he certainly had enough respect for the other man not only as a fighter, but a leader and even a person that he couldn't really stay angry at him. But he was now certain Bruce had gone behind his back, inviting all of them to stay on Tony's behalf. Tony knew if the situation had been reversed, and it could very well be done so in about a second, Bruce wouldn't be happy he had invited Captain Boyscout to keep an eye on _him_.

The hypocrisy of it all infuriated him. He was actually somewhat surprised Fury hadn't shown up since his Extremis procedure, breathing down his neck about protocols. But this was probably the next worst thing in Tony's book.

~AV~

Steve and Bruce watched Tony go, Bruce rubbing his chin thoughtfully as Steve hoisted his own duffel bag over his shoulder.

"That went well," Steve mumbled.

Natasha shrugged at him. "It could have been worse, Cap. At least he didn't call you a lab experiment. That's progress." She picked up her own bag and followed Clint down the hall.

Steve had actually been surprised there were rooms set aside for him at all, given their track status.

"It's not you, Steve. I think he feels like he's under house arrest," Bruce tried to assure him.

"Then it is me." Steve sighed. "This was a bad idea, I shouldn't-"

"No," Bruce shook his head firmly. "He might need to be under house arrest. He needs us. He needs our support, but he also needs a checkpoint. Honestly, I could use a checkpoint too." Bruce shrugged.

Steve thought for a moment. It was true Tony looked worse than when he had seen him last. He had lost weight, was paler, and there were dark circles under his eyes. "What's wrong with him?"

Bruce gave a heavy sigh, before he got back into the elevator, motioning for Steve to follow. The doors closed and it started moving. Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose over his glasses as the elevator started moving. "It's the Extremis. You know it lets him control parts of his suit, right?"

"I had an idea," Steve assured him. "But only what Sitwell explained to me. The suit can…read his mind?" he asked uncertainly.

"No. He can actually interface with it, so he thinks the actions faster than the suit would respond to him moving his hands a certain way, or asking Jarvis to do something like powering up the missiles."

"Ah," Steve said, not really sure where this was going. The elevator dinged, and he followed Bruce onto a floor almost identical to the last one they had been on.

"It also lets him interface with most electronics seamlessly, though I still think he prefers using his hands, especially around the workshop. But the reason we came out here…" Bruce slowed, turning to Steve. "Well, he can't control it. When he sleeps, I mean. In Malibu, his nightmares would affect the whole house."

"What?" Steve asked. He couldn't keep the surprise and concern out of his voice. "Does that mean…the suit…" he trailed off.

"It's only happened once. And it was just a part of it, it flew into the wall. But I saw it."

"So, that means he either has to sleep without nightmares or find a way to shut it off." Wow, this was giving him a headache.

"Yeah," Bruce agreed. "But we all have nightmares."

Bruce continued down the hall and Steve fell into step beside him. "Have you told SHIELD?"

Bruce whirled on him so fast, Steve took a step back. The intensity in Bruce's gaze was alarming, and he thought he may have seen a tinge of green in his eyes.

"Don't," he said quietly, the softness of his voice at odds with the look in his eyes. "Just…don't."

"Why not?" Steve argued. "If it's dangerous, we could get their scientists to help-"

Bruce cut him off with a bitter laugh. "Steve, they wanted to put me in a cage when I hadn't had an episode with the other guy in _three years_. What do you think they'll do to him when they find out he can't control the Iron Man armor_ when he sleeps_?" Bruce stood stock still, waiting for it to sink in.

"I just thought-"

"That their scientists could help him? Please, _he_ barely knows what he's dealing with." Steve was surprised at the venom in Bruce's voice, and that it wasn't all geared at SHIELD.

Suddenly, Steve understood. "You don't approve."

"No," Bruce agreed. "But I've already had that conversation with him. It's too late now." They rounded the corner, and Bruce pointed to a door. Steve walked through it and was instantly taken aback by the luxary of the bedroom that surrounded him. It was bigger than his whole apartment. "So this is you," Bruce said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Wow," Steve breathed, the problem at hand mostly forgotten for a moment. As he looked around, a framed print caught his eye. It was one of his USO tour posters from the 40s. He smirked. "Seems he still has his sense of humor."

"Yeah," Bruce agreed, walking up to stand side by side with him. "I found framed newspaper clippings of Hulk sightings in my room when I got here. Seems he was ready for you to be here after all."

Steve felt his gut twist in what he thought might have been appreciation. "So, what do we do?" he asked the scientist.

Bruce sighed again, sinking into a chair next to a dresser. "We'll have to tell Clint and Natasha. Clint probably won't say anything to his superiors, but…I'm not sure about Natasha."

"She…" Steve had been ready to defend her, but now, he wasn't entirely sure. She had an unerring dedication to her job, and he wasn't sure how this would factor into it. He usually prided himself on being able to read people, but not for the first time he had to praise her skills. It was one of the reasons she made such a good spy. "I'll talk to her," he assured Bruce.

Bruce gave a sarcastic smile, not meeting his eyes. "Good. She's already weary of me. I think it would be bad form if I went to her and told her to keep her mouth shut about a new monster problem."

Steve almost flinched. "Don't say that."

Bruce tiredly rubbed his forehead. "You're right. Sorry." He sighed again. "For now, let's just…try and be his safety net. He may not act like it, but he needs us. Pepper too. She's trying to be supportive, but she does not understand this world."

Steve huffed. "I'm not sure _I_ understand this world."

Bruce smiled. "Touché. In the meantime, I'll work with Tony, try and see if we can't find some way to shut down the Extremis when he sleeps."

"You make it sound so simple."

Bruce stood up. "Believe me, it's not."

"Oh, I do. The Starks always had to do everything the flashiest way possible."

Bruce turned to leave. "You have _no_ idea."


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: ZERMAGAWD, FINALS. But I worked on a thing. Mostly as procrastination from finals. Thanks to the TBB most especially to Tenebrielle for the edits. One of these days I'm going to write a fic that's just all long, run-on clauses, and I will get away with it. HA HA, REMEMBER WHEN I USED TO WRITE COMEDY? I miss that. _

Clint relaxed into the couch in Natasha's room as he watched her take her clothes out of her duffel bag and pack them neatly into a dresser on the other side of the room. She didn't have much; neither of them did.

There was still tension here, but it was different than the helicarrier. Stark Tower had the tension of meeting new people and of not being comfortable in new situations. It had the tension of Steve not knowing his place, Bruce's ever-threatening monster, and Tony's walls.

But it was still infinitely better than the tension on the ship. On the ship, people took sharp, off-balance turns down corridors when they saw him coming. Old sparring partners disappeared from the gym when he appeared. Whispers followed him everywhere.

So yes, he would take the tension of uncertainty, monsters and secrets any day.

A tv was attached to the wall above the dresser. Some cable news channel was on, featuring talking heads. Neither of them really liked the stuff, but he knew Natasha appreciated background noise in a new place. Silence set her on edge when she wasn't familiar with her surroundings. Neither of them had been paying attention to it, but Clint's head snapped up at the mention of Stark's name. Natasha slowed for a moment, before continuing her task, not looking at the screen.

"…_don't know the _full_ nature of this procedure. The U.S. Government's best experts in nanotechnology can't even say the full capabilities of the tech this man has running through his body._" Clint gritted his teeth as footage from one of Stark's parties began to play on the split screen next to the man talking, who was a senator. It could have been the one that verbally attacked Stark at his congressional hearing a few years back, Clint wasn't sure. He continued, "_The American People are just not safe with that sort of power in one man's hands. And you certainly can't deny he has a _reputation-"

"TV off," Natasha said quietly. Clint blinked. He hadn't realized how tense his shoulders had become just from watching a few minutes of conversation. He eased back into the couch. Stark had saved all their asses, for Christ's sakes.

"When will it be enough for these people?" he asked his partner.

She gave him a smirk as she picked up a pile of nicely folded t-shirts. "Realistically? Probably never."

"I'll kick that guy's ass," Clint mumbled. Okay, so maybe he was feeling a _little_ appreciative that Stark had let him into his home. But even if that hadn't been the case, he would have kicked the senator's ass anyway.

Natasha looked like she was about to say something else when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Natasha called out.

Steve entered, blinking when he caught sight of Clint on the couch. "Uh, sorry, if I'm interrupting something…"

Clint snorted loudly. "Cap, it's not the 40s. Men and women can be platonic friends with the door closed."

Steve flushed slightly. "Right, well, uh, I was just talking to Bruce…" Natasha took some lacey, black lingerie out of her duffel then. Clint suspected it was on purpose, because the Captain's face got redder and he rushed on in a hurry. "And he has a few things he thinks we should be concerned about."

Natasha stiffened minutely, and Clint sat up a little straighter in his chair.

"About the Hulk?" Natasha asked seriously.

"Well, there's that, but that's not he was talking about specifically. Look, I know Fury's your…our…boss, but do you think maybe," Steve ran his hand through his hair, clearly stalling for time. "You won't bring something up for a little while?"

Natasha and Clint looked at each other. This was unexpected. From Steve at least.

"It's important, at least until we figure this out," Steve pressed. "Please."

Clint was about to give the other man some assurance when he caught sight of the look on Natasha's face. He knew she was already on edge about sharing a space with the Hulk. The last thing she wanted was more surprises. He turned back to Steve. "What exactly do you mean by 'this'?" He asked Steve suspiciously.

Steve nervously fidgeted, taking a quick glance to the side of the room. Clint wasn't sure if he had ever seen him so unsure of himself. "So the Extremis procedure, you two know about it, right? Apparently, one of the, ah, side-effects is he sometimes can unconsciously control electronics. So he can use it to call pieces of the suit to him." Steve gestured vaguely with his hands.

Clint's eyes widened at that, somewhat disbelievingly. "Sounds kind of cool," he mused. Clint glanced at Natasha. She stood stock still, looking at Steve and waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Steve sighed. "Sometimes it happens when…he's not aware. Bruce says sometimes when he's sleeping…" the super-soldier trailed off, letting them wrap their heads around the ramifications of _that_ little piece of information.

No one moved for a moment. "Holy shit," Clint breathed. And boy, did Clint understand the ramifications of not being able to control yourself. Clint could kill someone with a bow, arrow, and his bare hands. What would an out of control titanium suit do?

"We have to tell Fury," Natasha seethed.

Steve stared at her wide-eyed. "Please, you can't-"

"Why not?" she barked, and Clint inwardly winced. "The idiot was already halfway off the rails of sanity when I met him. I really don't want to imagine an insane Iron Man suit running around."

Steve suddenly looked furious, but before he could say anything Clint had practically leapt off the couch and was between them. Both of them blinked at his sudden appearance. "This isn't helping anyone," he said quietly. He looked to Steve. "We won't tell Fury. But you have to tell us what you're doing to fix this. I don't like the idea of Stark being locked up any more than you. But Natasha's also right. This could get dangerous quickly."

He glanced once back towards Natasha, who was glaring at him before he turned to Steve expectantly.

Steve looked between both of them. "Bruce is working on a solution. It may be hard."

"How long will it take?" Natasha asked.

"I'm…not really sure…" Steve admitted looking down. "I hardly understand it-"

"Has anyone tried asking_ him_ about it?" Clint demanded suddenly. Natasha and Steve turned to him with surprised looks. "It's all well and good to speculate behind his back," he practically hissed, "but we at least owe to him to ask him to his face." Both of them had the decency to appear guilty at that, and Clint sat back down on the couch, feeling his point had been made. Both of them refused to meet his eyes then, knowing he wasn't _just_ talking about Stark. Suddenly, he couldn't stand it anymore. Without another word, he got up and brushed roughly past Steve and out of the room.

_**AV~AV~AV~AV**_

Hours later, Natasha found herself alone in the kitchen, leaning heavily on the bar. After Clint had stormed out of her room, she had given him some time to cool off. But she hadn't been able to find him after that. She assumed he'd crawled into the vents somewhere, but she didn't really have the heart to go after him.

She couldn't really fault him for taking the Stark thing personally. She herself was still feeling out the whole situation. She had only come because Clint had been so sure it was what she needed. She trusted Stark, she supposed, to a certain degree. It was impossible not to, when she had seen some of the selfless acts he'd done as Iron Man. But she still thought she was only scratching the surface. Stark in some respects was as skillful a liar as her; the way he wove truth so seamlessly through fibs always gave her pause. He was so good at his craft, he could tell the truth to someone's face and make them think he was lying.

How could she trust someone like that with her life? With Clint's?

Still, the fact she was here and was willing to try said something about her, she supposed. She was ready to do something a little more permanent than spy work. A little more…_good_. The idea of the Avengers, even against her better judgment, gave her a feeling she wasn't sure she was comfortable with yet. It gave her the feeling of hope.

But her cynical mind, the part that kept her alive, knew it couldn't work out. There was no way. They were all too damaged, they all had their own agendas. The only person holding them accountable was Fury, and he kept them on a relatively loose leash. It simultaneously calmed and terrified her. Sure, she couldn't destroy Harlem with her own two hands, but here she was living with at least three people that could.

She sighed, idly drawing her fingertip across the cool, marble countertop. She didn't usually like to dwell on the dead, but she wished Coulson were here. He had a way with people. He could intimidate people when he needed to, but also pull them out of their shells, disarming them mentally. He was probably the only person Clint ever listened to, and even that was hit or miss. Stark, at least, had paid attention to him. And he always seemed to know just what Fury needed to hear. He just…he had a way. She had always envied that about him.

She moved over to some cabinets, opening them silently as she looked for a glass. Finding one, she turned on the water and filled it. She was about to make her way back to her room, when she heard a noise, like metal shifting over metal. It was distant, but she automatically tensed. Her free hand twitched toward her thigh where she kept her largest knife. She never slept well in a new place because she was still getting used to the sounds. She stilled, but she didn't hear the sound again.

It could have been anything from Clint crawling around in the vents to Stark destroying something in a lab. She wanted to be sure, though.

Putting her glass back down on the countertop, she moved soundlessly into the hallway. She began heading for the stairs that led to the floor below and Stark's labs. As she crept down the stairs, only the soft stairwell lights lit her way. The bright fluorescents from the lab she had seen earlier were not on.

She remembered vaguely about the AI wired through the house in Malibu, and she had noticed its presence here too. She pursed her lips, somewhat frustrated at herself for not thinking about it earlier. "Jarvis," she said. Her own voice seemed loud in contrast to the relative silence she had been surrounded by only moments before. There was no answer. It was possible the AI was not wired in the hallways. She moved to the actual door of the lab, first peering inside for any sign of Stark. Seeing none, she turned her attention back to the panel on the doorframe.

It was off, which seemed strange to her given Stark's tendencies for an electronic lifestyle. "Jarvis?" she asked again. Still nothing. Something weird was going on here. Her first inclination was to shoot the glass, allowing her access. But unfortunately, she wasn't carrying her Beretta. She cursed, somewhat disgruntled. She started to turn when movement caught her eye and she froze.

Her eyes traveled over the dark shapes in the room, the glare from the stairwell lights making it hard to see through the glass. She squinted, scrutinizing every possible shape. Hard lines of desks and monitors stood out against the glow of the night sky and the city below. The occasional round chair edge broke up the monotony.

There.

Her eyes darted to an area of work tables to her right as she saw a form rise up behind it. Its eyes were glowing a harsh, electric blue that illuminated all the surfaces near it.

Her confusion lasted only a moment before Steve's earlier words settled in her mind with a startling clarity. At once, she knew it wasn't Stark in that suit. Iron Man moved with purpose, a titanium steel wall that dared anyone to get in his way. This had movements that were slow and deliberate, like a predator. They were movements she knew well.

She started to back away slowly, intent on finding help. Her eyes never left the slowly moving form in front of her. Its head turned, and she knew with startling clarity those eyes were focused on her.

Her fingers wrapped around the hilt of her knife, though she knew it would do nothing against a suit made of titanium alloy. She felt her heart rate quicken as she took another step backward.

The suit stood to full height, turning entirely towards her. It shoved a table out of the way and began walking quickly directly towards the window. There was no mistaking its intentions. She turned, racing back up the stairs, taking two at a time as she heard glass shatter behind her. The whine of hydraulics sounded as loud as thunder to her ears. She glanced back, tripping slightly. Her eyes widened as the suit raised its hand, its repulsor brightening malevolently.

Something barreled into her and she went tumbling down the stairs. The edge of one step caught her ribs, and she felt the air rush out of her lungs, as whatever had hit her rolled over her. Concrete and stone rained down around her as the blast from the suit shattered the steps she had just been on. She lifted her head, sucking in air, to see Clint draw back his bow string. He must have dropped down on her from the air shaft. He loosed an arrow that went sailing into a space where the abdomen joints of the armor locked up. It bounced off harmlessly to land on the floor in front of the suit.

"Move!" he shouted at her. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her over the crumbling staircase as she heard an explosion behind them.

"Not gonna stop…" she panted, still wheezing to get her breath back.

He gritted his teeth, pulling her sharply around a corner at the top of the staircase. "I know. We need to find Tony." They heard metal grinding over stone behind them and quickened their pace, heading for Tony's bedroom. They rounded another corner at a sharp turn, and Clint slammed right into Bruce. Bruce fell backwards, while Clint took a step, balancing himself before reaching out and pulling a still dazed Bruce up.

"What's-"

"The suit. It's on, it tried to kill her," Clint interrupted him.

Bruce's eyes widened in confusion. "It shouldn't-"

"Where's Stark?" Clint demanded. The sounds of crunching metal were getting closer, and all of them looked back towards the other hallway. Bruce's eyes narrowed.

"I'll buy you time. Find Tony, only he can stop this." He took two steps forward.

Natasha's gut clenched in fear as she realized what he was about to do. "Bruce, you can't-"

"That suit can kill everyone here. I have no choice." Natasha watched as Bruce's skin took on a decidedly green tone. The scientist began to grow, his muscles expanding as his clothes became rapidly too small for him. Natasha almost threw up at the sounds of bones grinding against each other and muscles rippling under his skin. "Go!" he growled with a voice that wasn't human anymore.

The suit stepped around the corner, and the Hulk drove a massive fist towards it, smashing it into the floor. Dust exploded everywhere, and Hulk took a step backwards as cracks raced out from under the unmoving suit and up the walls. The Hulk grunted, as the armor lay unmoving. The only sound was the Hulk's loud breathing and stone settling. The Hulk was just beginning to turn back towards them, a satisfied look on his face, when there was an electronic whine. Natasha pulled Clint's head down so they were both looking away. Flares shot out of the suit, and the Hulk roared in rage, covering his face with one hand and taking blind swings with the other. The suit used the opportunity to pull itself out of the crag in the floor. Natasha yanked Clint forward, ignoring the sound of metal hitting flesh behind her.

"Split up! Find him!" She shouted over the roaring. He nodded, and they shot off in different directions.

_**AV~AV~AV~AV**_

Steve was out of his bed before the sound of the first crash had even faded. He snatched up his shield from where it had been leaning against his night stand. It was his only armor as he sprinted down the hall barefoot and in his pajamas, looking for Tony's room.

He had a pretty good memory for layouts, and he was up the nearest staircase and rounding a corner when he heard the angry roar of the Hulk in the distance. He swore, a nasty habit he'd picked up from Dum Dum Dugan that was only made worse from all his time spent around Clint. God, he hoped Clint and Natasha weren't involved in whatever was happening, but he knew that was probably a futile wish. First, Tony and Pepper.

He almost barreled into the red-head as he rounded a corner, looking frantic, but thankfully very much in one piece. He caught her firmly, noticing she was in a similar state of dishevelment as he. "Where's Tony?"

"I don't know, he never came to bed," she said, looking frantic. There was another crash, and Pepper began moving past him, towards the sound, but he pulled her back.

"Where would he be?" He asked her.

"The explosions, they're coming from his lab!" Steve hesitated, and she tried to move past him again. The sounds were getting closer. It didn't make any sense, unless whatever was causing them was looking for either Tony or Pepper. If Tony had been in that lab, the sounds wouldn't be getting closer.

He tugged her along after him, moving in the other direction, away from the noise and the bone shattering yell of the Hulk. She looked torn, but went with him. "Where else?" he demanded.

"He has an auxiliary lab on this floor, on the other side of the tower. He was getting it ready for Bruce-"

"Let's go." He let go of her wrist, and she nodded. She bolted in the direction of the auxiliary lab, Steve trailing closely behind her. He admired her courage. It was a terrifying situation, and Steve himself barely knew what was going on. She had been ready to run into danger after Tony, and wasn't letting the panic get to her head. She reminded him of Peggy.

_Not the time, Rogers_ he firmly reminded himself. There was another roar, and Pepper picked up her pace. He heard footsteps behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder to see Natasha sprinting towards them. Pepper turned too and slowed, allowing the spy to catch up. She was breathing hard, and her face was covered in superficial cuts that were bright red, but for the most part she looked unharmed. "What's happening?" he demanded as they started following Pepper again.

"Suit on the fritz. Banner's containing it."

"Voluntarily?" he asked.

He didn't miss the weary look in her eyes. "Yes. So far, minimal damage. Probably not for long. Not much time."

He nodded, his suspicions confirmed. He could now distinctly make out the sounds of giant fists smashing concrete, and repulsor whines. Too close. They needed to find Tony now, or whatever control Bruce had had over Hulk when he transformed would be gone, and so would the tower.

"Here," Pepper said, not slowing down as she ran to the door. She gave a frustrated growl when the electronic lock didn't activate, pounding it desperately. Steve gently pushed her aside, before swinging his shield into the glass. It shattered instantly.

"Careful," he said, as sharp pieces of glass pricked his feet. He could see a human form slumped in the corner, only illuminated by the glow of the arc reactor.

"Tony!" Pepper shouted frantically. Despite her own bare feet, she wasn't as cautious as Steve. She barreled past him and left bloody footprints in her wake. Steve jogged after her, increasing his pace as he saw Tony twitching violently.

"Cap," Natasha said in a warning tone. A moment later the Hulk roared again, and the sound was too close. Far too close.

Steve ignored it for the moment, leaning down next to Pepper at Tony's side. He realized then that Tony's movements weren't the normal ones of dreams. He was having a seizure. His eyes were rolled back in his head as his shoulders and back snapped unnaturally off the cot he was laying on, the blankets twisted around his legs. Pepper was crying, not daring to touch him. Steve himself was unsure what to do. He flinched as a there was a crash, and he could see the massive outline of the Hulk go flying past the entrance of the hallway they were in. Natasha drew her gun, taking a step back inside the lab, her boots crunching glass.

There was a choking noise, and Pepper's frantic whispers of "Please, Tony, please…" twisted Steve's gut in a vice. He crouched in front of them both, leveling his shield as he saw the suit come into view.

"Stark, you have to wake up," he commanded. He was ready to defend them both to his last breath, but he'd rather it not come to that. Natasha fired her gun, the bullets having no effect on the suit whatsoever.

There was a shout from somewhere above them. "EYES!"

Natasha instantly ducked and turned away, and Steve did the same, pulling a startled Pepper behind his shield with him as an arrow thunked into the ground at the suit's feet. Even with his eyes closed and the shield for protection, Steve could see the intense light the flash bang grenade gave off.

He looked up in time to see Natasha dive out of the way as the suit began firing blindly. It seemed Clint had knocked out its cameras, just in time for the Hulk to come roaring back. His green skin was covered in angry red burns. The Hulk was gnashing his teeth and spitting wildly as he charged on all fours like a gorilla towards the suit. Steve watched as a shower of sparks fell from the armor as the Hulk angrily pulled one of its arms off like a doll, before bringing the appendage to his mouth and crunching it. The Hulk threw back his head, ripping the arm in half, wires and plating still dangling from his teeth.

Satisfied the situation was in hand for the moment, he turned his attention back to Tony who had become still. His eyes were half open, and his mouth hung slack. Pepper had taken one of his hands in hers and was holding it to her forehead. Steve moved forward, slapping Tony's cheek, and not lightly. "Wake up! Tony, you have to wake up!" a trickle of blood ran from the engineer's mouth, probably from biting his tongue during the seizure. He flinched at Steve's second slap, eyes blinking out of focus.

"Nyuuhh…" he moaned, eyes drifting over Steve and Pepper. Pepper gave a choked sob, as Steve turned to look back at the suit which had crumpled to the ground upon Tony's apparent return to consciousness. The Hulk looked confused for a moment, before he tore off the other limb for good measure, crunching that one between his teeth too.

Clint dropped slowly out of the vents, landing in front of the Hulk. He brought his hands up in an effort to appease the Hulk, who only snorted at him. The danger had passed; he began to shrink back down to normal human size. Clint caught the collapsing Banner, and Steve turned his attention to Natasha.

She looked furious.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Thanks again to everyone at TBB for the once-over, and sorry, dear readers, this took so long. I was slammed with finals, then took winter break off to do basically nothing. Also, another plug for TBB. You don't need to necessarily be a writer, we're always looking for more people to beta as well. Head over to my profile page for more info. Thanks again for reading!_

Tony was pretty incoherent after that. Pepper led his trembling form to their bedroom, which was still remarkably intact. The suit didn't show any signs of movement. The Hulk had done a pretty good job of incapacitating the suit, and it seemed like Tony was incoherent enough he'd fall into a sleep deep enough to prevent any mishaps.

Bruce leaned heavily on Clint as the rest of them made their way…somewhere…in silence. Bruce assumed they were moving towards the nearest communal area. Bruce was tired, but it wasn't the bone-aching exhaustion that came from transforming accidentally. The voluntary transformation was…more comfortable for both parties, and something Bruce was afraid he was getting used to.

His teeth ached something awful, though.

When they reached the living room, Clint eased him down on the couch. Bruce gave him a grateful nod as the archer handed a blanket to him. Wrapping it around himself, Bruce's eyes traveled to where Natasha was sitting on a bar stool. She was leaning on the counter, her hands holding her head up in an uncharacteristic display of emotion. Steve didn't look too much better. The super solider was standing with his arms folded over his chest and his head bowed.

No one seemed quite sure how to start. Bruce took a deep breath, looking at them all in turn. "Don't tell Fury. Please," he pleaded.

"Why the hell not?" Natasha hissed at him.

"Nat," Clint said quietly.

"No, I want to know. I know you don't like the idea of confinement, Bruce, but we'd just be shutting down his machines. Since apparently the only other way to shut them down is with the Hulk."

Bruce winced.

"It was fine, he controlled it. The Hulk saved our asses, Nat!" Clint crossed his arms in front of his chest, daring a reply from his partner. Bruce was somewhat surprised Clint was sticking up for him, but then again, maybe he shouldn't have been.

"The suit can't stay, at least," Steve said quietly.

Bruce lifted a hand from the confines of his blanket to rub at his nose. "The suit has to stay, otherwise Tony won't be able to find out how to…" he wave his hand vaguely, "…shut it off."

"That man is already straddling the line between risky and manic. His actions-"

"Aren't his fault," Clint interrupted fiercely. For a moment, a pained expression caught Natalie's features.

"Clint-"

"He needs help," Steve said quietly. "SHIELD can...help him." A pained, guilty look crossed his face. "More than we can, anyway."

"You're not sending him to Fury." They all turned to see Pepper's imposing figure standing in the doorway. If she had been crying, there was no sign of it now. Her chin was tilted downward, a look of defiance plastered on her face. "I called you guys because I was not going to send him to Fury. All SHIELD has done for him is watch him crash and burn and stand by while he pulled himself out of the ashes. Sorry, Natasha." She gave a swift nod toward the spy before stepping into the room slowly, every inch of her exuding conviction. "Tony can save himself. He always has. But he needs help this time. And SHIELD won't help. They'll lock him up, and wire electrodes to him and make him theirs. And I'll be damned if I watch that happen to him while I still draw breath."

Nobody moved as Pepper's eyes traveled over each of them in turn.

"She's right," Bruce said. "Please," he said looking at Steve again. "Give us some time, I can help him figure it out."

Steve's eyes flitted from Pepper's to his. "You'd best get started."

_***AV***_

Tony reached for the glass on his desk with a shaking hand. His fingers wrapped around it, but all he could do was tug it weakly a few inches before he gave up and swatted it over. He leaned forward, burying his aching head in his hands.

"_Sir,_" Jarvis' soft voice sounded from the speaker above him. He didn't want to answer. He couldn't help feeling he let Jarvis down, let everyone down. He was Tony goddamn Stark, he was supposed to be in control, not let his tech control him.

When he had woken up, Pepper had explained what happened. He could barely bring himself to speak as self-loathing curled in his gut, along with fear.

"Did I…hurt anyone?" he asked.

She shook her head, mumbling quietly "No, Tony, no. It was the suit. It wasn't you. And everyone's fine." She tried to give him a reassuring smile, but he saw the doubt and fear lingering in her eyes.

He was exhausted, but he forced himself out of bed and made his way down to his lab. He had to solve this. Somehow it had only gotten worse. And now there were more people under his roof. He didn't want to kick them out, he actually valued the company in a way he never thought he would. But between the suit and the Hulk, there was just no plausible way this would work.

He had been somewhat surprised to find Bruce already there when he got to his lab. Bruce simply smiled at him and held up some electrodes.

"What are those?"

"I thought we'd start with an EEG," he said. "Just while you're working. We need a control. Then we'll take it easy, do some light exercises with the armor," he said. Tony snorted, collapsing into a chair near Bruce.

"Jarvis already has all that stuff," he waved a hand absentmindedly as Bruce came over.

"I know. But I want to see if anything's changed since…since yesterday." Tony sighed, which Bruce took as a go ahead and started attaching equipment to his head. Despite Bruce's gentle and calm administrations, Tony couldn't help but feel fidgety. His eyes darted around the room, and he drummed his fingers against his arc reactor. "Stop it," Bruce mumbled, noticing his nervousness. Tony stilled, but it was only for a moment before he started tapping his foot. Bruce sighed quietly. "Look, I know it's hard-"

Tony let out a slight grunt at that. He hated when people saw him vulnerable. Loathed it. With wires strapped to his body, and the constant supervision he was sure Banner was going to give him, he was sure it was not going to get better. If Fury found out, the spy was going to shut him down.

"Tony," Bruce moved to stand in front of him, but Tony didn't look up. He knew he was acting like a child, but he didn't really care at this point. "I'm trying to help you. We all are. I know it…it doesn't always feel like it, but you have to trust me. I know the difference between genuine help and an 'interest in science'." Tony did look at him then, and Bruce returned his gaze with a pained smile.

"Sorry," Tony mumbled.

Bruce shook his head. "Nothing to be sorry for. Anyway, I think I'm all set here, if you want to go back to whatever you were working on." Tony complied, pulling the cart with the machine he was now attached to with him. Dummy scooted over, chirping happily at him as he followed along.

"Idiot bot," Tony grunted, but he couldn't suppress a smile. He rubbed a hand on Dummy's chassis appreciatively.

_***AV***_

Bruce watched as Tony poured himself into his work. He could see when he walked behind the other man that he had the programming on the nanobots pulled up, and was meticulously examining code. Bruce had a handle on coding, but only the most basic stuff. This was _way_ beyond his pay grade.

Throughout the afternoon, he continued to monitor the EEG. Nothing really changed, and everything appeared normal. Finally, Bruce had grown somewhat uncomfortable with the silence. "Does this happen every time you sleep?" he asked.

Tony flinched minutely; if Bruce hadn't been looking for it, he wouldn't have seen it. "Not every time. Just when…sometimes my dreams are particularly…vivid…" Tony waved his hand vaguely, refusing to meet Bruce's eyes again.

"I see. Do you think it was the nanovirus that caused you to have a seizure?"

"I…uh, maybe? I'm not that well-versed in medical technologies, Bruce."

"And yet you put one in your body," mumbled Bruce under his breath. Tony didn't seem to have heard him. "I want to figure out _why_ you had the seizure," he said louder. He held up two fingers. "Either the virus was reacting to a disconnect in your brain in the most extreme way possible," he put down one finger. "Or it caused it. Unfortunately, since Jarvis goes offline during these episodes, we don't have the data." Tony scrubbed a hand tiredly over his face, and turned his whole body away. "You're going to have to go to sleep some time."

"Don't need sleep," Tony said with forced cheeriness.

"Sure you don't, tough guy. But as soon as I tell Pepper-"

"I just…" Bruce turned at the interruption. At the mention of Pepper's name, Tony looked more defeated than he had ever seen him. "I keep expecting her to leave," he said so quietly, Bruce almost didn't even hear him.

"She's not going to leave. She's fiercely protective of you. Even…" Bruce sighed, as memories of Betty flitted across his subconscious. "even though you did it to yourself." He took off his glasses, smiling grimly. "Look, Pepper is not the kind of person to back out of a situation and leave you to the wolves when the going gets tough. She made that abundantly clear last night. So just…have a little faith, okay?"

Tony grunted. "Bruce, I am a man of science."

"Then have a little trust. Not just in her, but in yourself."

"_Sir, Dr. Banner, Director Fury is calling. Apparently there is some sort of situation uptown." _Jarvis interrupted.

"Well, let's suit up. Least I can do is show you the new suit before the Other Guy bites more limbs off."

"Wait, you had more than one?" Bruce asked puzzled. Neither he nor Jarvis should have been able to repair the suit that attacked them yesterday that quickly.

Tony huffs. "Course I did. Who do you think I am?" He lifted his arms and what Bruce had only taken for scrap metal around the workshop began to move and vibrate. Tony grinned at him as gold metal flew to his wrists, expanding rapidly like sleeves up his arms. The chest plate and back were next, slowing as they got to Tony. They sandwiched his body in between them as metal rods popped out, clasped onto each other, and then pulled the metal plates tightly together. More metal cuffs followed, wrapping around Tony's ankles, expanding up his legs and down his feet.

The whole thing only took about 20 seconds.

Bruce couldn't deny it was seriously cool.

_***AV***_

Tony flew beside the quinjet over New York. He could see inside that Clint was flying with Natasha co-piloting. He could just glimpse a very uncomfortable-looking Banner in the back, alongside Rogers, who was standing. Bruce hadn't wanted to come at all, saying they shouldn't be relying on the Hulk for instances of taking down one man. However, SHIELD weapons hadn't been able to touch the guy, and he was currently wreaking havoc down on Wall Street. NYPD had been ordered to move civilians away, but the evacuation process was still slower than they would have liked. By the time they arrived, there was a guy flying around the street and zipping through walls with debris raining down on traders, tourists, and police.

"_Clint, get us down there, now!"_ Steve commanded.

"_Tryin' Cap,"_ Clint bit back, but the street was so littered with people and debris that finding a landing spot would be difficult.

"_Iron Man,"_ Steve tried next.

"On it," Tony responded.

But what he was on, he wasn't really sure. Tony wasn't even sure if the guy causing all the damage was human. It had the shape of a man, but it was light looking at a bright purple light. Data began to appear on his HUD unasked for; trying to analyze the form as it zipped through walls. A huge chunk of debris began falling towards more police on the street. Tony raised his arm, and his suit knew to power his repulsor as he did it. His brain worked together with the targeting system so he knew exactly where his hand had to be placed. By the time his hand was there, the repulsor had already charged and was firing. The piece of concrete was blown apart into harmless dust.

He hovered forward, secretly pleased how well the Extremis formula was working in this situation. It didn't seem like much, but the seconds he eliminated between giving physical commands and giving mental ones could save lives. Numbers flashed across his HUD, the data sinking into his brain at the same time. It was easier to see it. Otherwise it was too many variables too fast. He still wasn't quite used to that. He squinted suddenly at the readouts, looking up again as another purple flash flew by.

"_Stark, are you going to engage sometime today?"_ Natasha's irritated voice asked. The quinjet had found a spot and was just touching down.

"That can't be right," Tony mumbled more to himself than to them.

"_What is it?"_ Steve asked.

"It's just…showing up as an energy signature. Not an organic life form, no tech that I can read, just…energy."

"_No, that can't be right,"_ Bruce's disbelieving voice unknowingly echoed his initial thoughts. The back of the quinjet opened and of course Captain America was the first out, followed shortly by Clint and Natasha. Bruce sort of stuck his head tentatively out the back.

"That's what I got," he bit back. "And my readings are never wrong. Be careful."

"Hey! You!" Steve shouted upwards. Tony was about to roll his eyes when he noticed the purple figure slow, and then stop, hovering over the street and staring down at them. Clint didn't waste any time, loosing an arrow right through the head of the figure. The arrow sailed through the figure's head like it was mist. The purple energy immediately fell back into place, and a black covering came over the top of it, forming almost a helmet with eyes and a mouth. Well, now they had its attention.

"You better stand down, Purple Rain," Tony growled, raising his arms. Missiles appeared on his forearms as he did so. "Before someone, namely you, gets hurt."

The figure regarded him for a moment before it was rushing him. Tony grunted muttered an explicative as he fired. The missiles went right through the creature.

"Shouldn't have done that," the other muttered in a tinny voice not unlike Tony's own when he was in the suit.

That stopped him short. "Huh?" The thing plowed into him with way more physical force than Tony would have guessed. He grunted, somewhat winded as they fell through the air.

"Living Laser. Pleased ta meetcha," the other one sneered, right before they hit the asphalt slamming Tony's head back. Tony lay dazed for a moment as the man zipped from his own body towards the others. Both Clint and Natasha dove to the side as Steve brought his own shield up. Natasha fired her gun, the bullets firing harmlessly through him as Clint fired another arrow that did the same. Steve was propelled backward as Tony climbed to his feet. He hated to say it, but he knew they were all going to be useless.

He heard a roar and realized Bruce had already gone and Hulked out. Whether by choice or because the Laser was flying towards the quinjet, he couldn't be sure. The Hulk took a swing at the laser, who dodged easily, flying up towards the Hulk's head and putting his hands on his ears. The Hulk roared in pain as the Laser fired a blast of energy into his head. The Laser dove off of the Hulk as the green guy sunk to one knee, and made towards the spies. Clint fired another arrow in his direction, and Tony's HUD immediately displayed the high frequency of sonar radiating off of it. It was meant to give someone a splitting headache.

Okay, so not totally useless. Tony would personally look into getting him more of those arrows.

Unfortunately, it only seemed to make the man hesitate before he was zooming towards them again. But this time Tony was ready. He had already calibrated his repulsors to match the energy signature of the other man. The thrusters fired the moment Tony thought about it and he was moving. He and the armor were of one mind, working together seamlessly. The repulsors were charging as he flew, ready to fire when he was. He landed in front of a surprised Clint and Natasha, his arms up and firing before they could even comprehend what was happening.

The recalibrated blasts from his repulsors slammed into the living laser who let out a cry of pain as he fell backwards. From somewhere off to his left the Hulk grunted appreciatively. So it had been a voluntary transformation then. "Don't worry, Big Guy," he said loudly, stomping over to where the Living Laser was trying to pick himself off the ground. "He's done." Tony almost wished he had been able to fight more. But it was clear this guy hadn't really been expecting resistance. As the man groaned on the ground, Tony knelt down to try and find the source of his power. Now that he was dazed, the purple energy surrounding the man was beginning to fade slightly. Sensors in his suit told his brain that the others were moving up behind him.

"What's his deal?" Steve asked, apparently recovered from his earlier ass-kicking.

"Still trying to figure that out," Tony mumbled. Out of the corner of his display, he caught Clint eyeing him warily, but he ignored it.

"Hrrrng, just…try…" the Living Laser mumbled from the ground.

The Hulk, who had wandered over, gave him a light kick to the head, which was actually a pretty heavy kick coming from anyone else. Surprisingly it connected and with another moan, Living Laser settled into stillness, the purple energy over his body disappearing.

"Hmm, thanks Big Guy!" Tony said happily. The Hulk grunted in return. The man was naked except for a pair of boxer briefs, and Tony saw no device that would point to what gave him his powers. Mutant, possibly.

"_Fury to Stark,"_ and Tony fought the urge to wince.

"Yes, dear?"

Fury ignored his mocking jibe. _"You figure out a way to contain him yet?"_

"I'd start with an energy shield around a jail cell calibrated to _this_ frequency," he said, sending the specs. He stood up, turning to face the others. Steve and Natasha were studying the form on the ground, but Clint was still looking at him sort of appraisingly. "What?" he growled.

The archer shrugged. "Thanks. You saved our asses."

Tony stood still for a moment, before shrugging. "Well, you weren't exactly helpless with those sonic arrows. You got any more? I want to look at them."

Clint grinned. "Sure. Can you make more?" Tony raised his faceplate just so he could grin back at the archer. Then he turned towards the Hulk.

"C'mon Big Guy, show's over." The Hulk grunted with disappointment, before following them back to the quinjet. He began shrinking as he did so, until he was an exhausted Dr. Banner falling into Tony's arms.

"Well done, everyone," Steve said generally. Tony doubted anyone was paying much attention to him. "I'm staying to help with the cleanup. Hawkeye, you're with me. Iron Man, you're on prisoner escort with SHIELD. Natasha, will you take Dr. Banner home?" They all nodded, Tony handing Banner to Natasha and moving over to haul the unconscious man upright.

As he all but threw the man into a SHIELD van, he couldn't help the nagging feeling he had.


End file.
